Memories That Never Fade
by KeepFaith-SmellApples
Summary: A gruesome case bring back horrible memories for Lisbon, and cause her to fall back into an old habit. Established Lisburn. Rated STRONG T for dark content. On hiatus for a little while!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Lisburn fans! This is a story idea that I've had floating around my head for a while now, but a week ago I decided to finally put it into action.  
Now, this story will be dark (and rated a _very_ strong T, I might even change the rating later on), so if you're looking for a happy story, don't read this. Really.**

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**Prologue**

_He was shouting again, and the 13 year oldTeresa Lisbon hated it. So heard a crash from the kitchen, and was suddenly glad she'd sent her brothers to be early, before her father had gotten home. _

_Her fingers traced lightly over the old bruise on her leg. The tears stung at her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could fall. She wasn't going to cry today. Especially not after what had happened last night. She was too strong for this. _

_The girl lifted her sleeve up, to reveal the three red slashes on her wrist. Her fingers ghosted over them, and she reached to her bedside table to grab the thick razor blade she had stored there. Teresa looked at it for a few moments, before she ran it over her wrist, right under the marks from the night before. The red blood started to seep out of the wound, and she pressed her eyes tightly together so she wouldn't cry again. No, she wasn't going to cry. She was too strong. _

She wouldn't cry.

* * *

"Oh sh… Shoot!" Teresa Lisbon cursed, grabbing the soft sheet she'd been sleeping under as she rolled out of bed.

Walter Mashburn groaned from next to her, fumbling through the blanket to grab her arm to pull her back to him. "It's early. Come back to bed."

"It's not 'early', it's almost 8." Teresa started to pull her clothes on from the night before. "It'll take me 20 minutes to get back to my apartment and then another 20 to get to CBI."

Walter rolled over onto his stomach. 'You wouldn't have to drive all the way back to your place if you moved in with me."

Teresa turned to face him, fully dressed with the sheet held in her fist. "What?"

"I mean it," Walter moved closer to her, so he could face her directly. "There's _more_ than enough room for you here and I'm tired of living here all alone so… Think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Teresa smiled, leaning over to quickly kiss him. He tried to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close, but she laughed and lightly pushed him away. "_Goodbye_, Walter."

He sighed dramatically, and fell back into the bed. "I love you," he called after her.

Teresa looked at him over her should. "I love you too, Walter."

Halfway to CBI, Grace had called her; to inform her that they'd found a body in the poorer side of the city.

"The next door neighbor saw her through the window, and called the police. The girl's 12, maybe 13. Rigsby's trying to get an ID out of the neighbor."

"Thanks Van Pelt. I'll be right there. Bye."

"Boss it's… It's pretty gruesome. Are you sure you don't want us to handle it?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes, but a small smile came onto her face. "Of course not, Grace. I'll be there in 15 minutes."

* * *

Lisbon hardly needed an address to see what house was which; the troupe of police cars and officers told her where she needed to be.

She unbuckled her seat belt, and stepped out of the car. Her car door shut behind her, and Rigsby was by her side in a second.

"Our vic is Fiona Baker. 13 years old, and she attends the public middle school a few minutes away." He lifted the yellow crime scene tape so she could walk under it. He entered before her, and pointed. "That's her."

There was a dead body alright, that was the first thing Lisbon noticed. The girl's body hung limp in the air, supported only by a strong, thick rope, tied firmly around the girl's neck. Lisbon's heart started to race, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment, before she hardened her face into her mask. "Rigsby... This doesn't look like a murder."

"I know," he said uncertainly, shifting on the balls of his feet. "It looks like a suicide."

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**Reviews, please? Should I continue or just stop here?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, my dear Lisburn fans! Started writing this last night, while I was anxiously awaiting my pottermore email (it's finally open! Can you guys believe it? I'm so excited! I really want to be a Ravenclaw!)  
Also, I forgot the mention this in the previous chapter- this story takes place while Grace is still with O'Laughlin but after Walter has returned from Europe. **

**But anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter (:**

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Lisbon raised her eyebrow at him, and Rigsby hurried to explain.

"It _looks _like a suicide. But the detectives that got here say that there's no way she could have hung herself like this. And the ME's preliminary says that it's possible that someone killed her and hung her themselves."

Lisbon sighed. "What about her family?"

"Ummm…" Rigsby took a second to consult the small notebook in his hand. "Her mom died 7 months ago. According to the neighbor, her pare… Her dad and her three brothers live here now. She also said that the dad usually works at the local radio station a couple blocks from here."

"Alright, have Van Pelt canvas the area. See if anyone saw anything, and when. You and Cho track down the dad and the brothers. Then take them back to CBI."

"You got it, boss!" He turned away to find his partner.

"And find Jane… He has to be lurking around here somewhere. I saw his car when I pulled up."

"On it," he called over her shoulder, leaving the house.

The team spent another 2 hours at the scene- collecting, organizing and cataloging evidence, and having CSU take pictures. Teresa looked around the house for Jane for a few minutes and, finding nothing, ordered Van Pelt back to the office.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Teresa answered the moment she picked up the phone, not even needing him to ask her. "I'm busy with a case."

Walter's childish groan made her smile, and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "But I already made us reservations for lunch!"

Teresa smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Sweet, but I have a family that might be coming in later…" She checked her watch. Rigsby and Cho should be back soon"…And I need to interview them the second they get here."

"But you'll still have to eat," Walter countered. "So… Can come pick you up in say… Half an hour? Please?"

"Walter..." She trailed off with a sigh.

"Please?" He asked again, and Teresa knew she couldn't say no.

"Fine," she put down the pen she was holding in her free hand. "I'll see you in thirty minutes."

"Hey boss," Van Pelt said cheerfully, walking by Lisbon's office, poking her head in. "I just got off the phone with Rigsby. He said that he and Cho were going to stay at the school and talk to the family. He wants to know if that's okay…?"

"Sure, sure…" Teresa waved her off, and Grace smiled and walked back to her desk.

* * *

Brendin Baker was halfway to his fourth period class when his name was announced over the hallway's speakers.

_"Will Brendin Baker please report to the principal office?" _The nasally voice of the principal's secretary rang out through the school, her voice a bit louder than all those throughout the hallway.

He stopped right outside his classroom and thought about all the things he'd done in the past week. Nothing that deserved a visit to the principal's office, he decided, finally turning around in the direction of the office.

His high school wasn't small, exactly, but it wasn't an entirely large one. It took him about three minutes to reach the office, and when he did the hallways were practically empty. The school's bell rand, signaling the beginning of the period. Brendin opened the door to the office, and the secretary pointed through to the principal's office. His door was open, so Brendin walked right through to the office.

The first thing he saw was his two younger brothers on the couch- Jake and Timmy. And then… His dad.

His eyes flickered towards the desk- his principal wasn't there. Instead, there were two men dressed in suits there.

"Brendin Baker?" The shorter, Korean one asked. Brendin nodded, and sat down on the edge of the couch.

Brendin nodded, and the men looked at each other. "Sit down. We've got a lot to talk about."

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**Oh, please review! Reviews make me so happy(: **


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello my dear," Walter stuck his head into her office before he stepped in. "Are you ready to go to lunch?"

She looked up from the manila folder she'd been reading. "Yeah. Give me a minute."

"That about the case that took you away from me this morning?" He slid into the chair across from her desk.

"Kinda." Teresa jerked her arm away from him as Walter reached for the folder. "Don't touch."

"Kinda?"

"The girl who was killed… Her mom was killed in a drunk driving accident a few years ago. They never caught the driver."

"How does that relate to the case?"

Teresa shrugged, and bit her lip. "I don't know yet. Ready?"She closed the folder, and put it back down on her desk next to her keyboard. She grabbed her jacket, and shrugged it over her shoulders. She walked around her desk, and he put his hand on her back so he could steer her out of her office.

Grace glanced up as they walked by, and she sent Teresa a quick smile before returning to the file she was dutifully filling out. Teresa made a mental note to thank her for covering lunch later, and let Walter lead her out of the CBI building.

* * *

"Am I boring you?" Walter asked lightly, leaning forward so he could rest his head on her hands, his eyes firmly locked on her.

She signed, chewing the side of her lip. "No, no I'm sorry I'm just-"

"Distracted?" His eyes glimmered as he teased her. "I noticed."

"It's just the case," her fingers traced over the fancy design on the fork she hadn't touched all lunch. "It just… Brings back a lot o-"

"Feelings?" He guessed, and she shrugged.

"Memories, I guess."

"Two younger brothers," he recalled the details she'd shared with him on the drive to the restaurant. "An abusive father… She reminds you of you."

"Yeah, I guess…" Teresa thought for a moment. "I'm sorry I can't be interesting. We should've just had lunch another day."

"It's fine, baby." He reassuringly smiled at her. "You're adorable when you're pondering things."

She raised an eyebrow. "Pondering?"

"I'm seducing you with my impressive vocabulary," he whispered dramatically.

"Are you?" She asked. "I don't feel very seduced." They both leaned their heads towards each other until their lips were a few centimeters apart. Walter lightly brushed his lips over hers for a few seconds, before he leaned back and she sighed.  
"Are you seduced yet?" He asked pompously and her answer was directed at his lips.

"Not yet," her whisper challenged him and he raised and it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked, and her eyes sparkled.

"Are you up to the challenge?"

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**So, I had a little case of writer's block for my other Mentalist story (The Mentalist's Guide to Surviving High School) and I decided to go read some Mentalist Fanfiction, right? So I searched for Lisburn stories and stumbled upon my own which I had accidentally forgotten about :/ Whoops. But I'm updating now. So please please review!(: **


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